Editorial Calendars – A Key to Visibility Success
By: Shannon Cherry (see my bio)
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Do you know the secret of how PR professionals know what stories will be covered before they hit the newstand or get on the air?
It’s editorial calendars. Knowing about this all-important calendar can help your company to get some much-needed and best of all- free – visibility.
Besides including months and the year, these calendars bear little in common with the ones you are familiar with.
An editorial calendar is a strictly functional item: There are no swimming suit models or adorable pets here, just lists of the notable issues and forthcoming features slated for future stories. While most people wouldn’t be all that interested in these calendars, they can be a gold mine for small business owners and entrepreneurs looking to get more visibility through media coverage.
By taking a look at the editorial calendars of the media your target market uses, you can see what topics they will be covering in the future. And then you will be able to share your story with those media outlets and you’ll more than likely be able to score a PR coup as a result.
More than 7,000 publications in the U.S. And Canada publish editorial calendars and a few thousand do so for TV and radio shows. Typically, these can be found in advertising sales kits. The calendar topics are included so advertisers can tie their ads into topics covered in the publication.
Once you’ve looked over a media outlet’s calendar, you can make a choice on which of their upcoming stories you may be able to offer your ideas as a source. For example, if you’re looking at a trade journal, you may want to look at the calendar in terms of what topics you could offer an industry-insider opinion piece on.
It’s a bad idea to wait until the last minute to pitch your story to an editor, however. If the publication isn’t working on a tight deadline, a good rule of thumb is that they will be looking for information about four to six months ahead of publication.
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| If you're looking for unique and innovative ideas to help attract more prospects, sell more products & services, and increase visibility & credibility, you need to connect with Shannon Cherry, your creative relationship marketing expert. Want to build buzz while boosting your profits? Visit her site at http://www.BeHeardSolutions.com for strategies and ideas. And when you visit, don’t forget to download her award-winning Be Heard! marketing pack for free. |
